St. Joseph’s Newsletter – 25th February 2018
Bonus Ball Winner: 38 – Margaret Mann, Ian Gorman (Club)
Offertory - £1583.42 (inc. standing orders)
CAFOD – £69.50
Sanctuary Lamp
Tommy Barnes
(Birthday Remembrance)
Marian Candle
Des Ord
(Birthday Remembrance)
Lately Dead
Josie Armstrong (Martha Connolly’s sister),
If anyone knows of any sick or housebound parishioner who would like to receive communion at home, please let Fr. Malcolm know. Thank you.
The Priests – Live in Concert are singing at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall with guest mezzo soprano Danielle Thomas on Friday 1st June 2018. Tickets have been purchased with good seats in the stalls at £30.00. I have reserved 47 tickets (which includes 19 for St. Alban’s/Sacred Heart) so if you have signed up, please arrange to let me have your payment as soon as possible, cheques payable to St. Joseph. All funds raised from the concert will be split between Nugent and supporting the work and upkeep of the cathedral.
St. Joseph’s Toddler Group
Will re-commence on Thursday 11th January from 9.45am to 11.30am at the Loreto Centre. Cost is £1.50. Please contact Angela Meade on 01925 723951 for more information.
Thank You
Many thanks to everyone who supported this year’s panto, “Puss in Boots”, and made our 25th Anniversary show, another big success. Any groups that would like to apply for funding please do so in writing by 5th March 2018, giving details of how much you would like and what it would be used for.
Pilgrimage to Krakow Poland
Would you like to join a pilgrimage to Krakow, Poland from Sunday 29th April to Friday 4th May? The pilgrimage will be accompanied by Frs. Michael Fitzsimons and Bill Murphy fromSt Wilfrid's Parish, Widnes. Flights are from Liverpool airport direct to Krakow, staying at Hotel Campanile in the historic centre of Krakow.Visits to sites in Krakow, and trips to Czestochowa, Wadowice, Auschwitz and the Divine Mercy Centre. Price £650 single room supplement £135. Travel Insurance £46 per person no age limit. For more information contact the Parish Office at St Wilfrid's on 0151 422 1772
Cheltenham 2018---Date for your diary.
This is always a popular afternoon in St Joseph’s Club, watching the Cheltenham Gold Cup on the telly! The date this year is Friday 16th March from 12noon.
Stations of the Cross
As in previous years, Stations of the Cross will follow Exposition each Friday during Lent at St. Joseph’s.
Grandparents Group
The next meeting of the Grandparents Group will take place on Tuesday 27th February at 7.30pm in the small meeting room in St. Joseph’s Parish Centre. Come along for a prayer, a cuppa and a natter!
Women’s World Day of Prayer
This years’ Service, which has been prepared by the women of Suriname, will take place at St. Joseph’s Church on Friday 2nd March at 7.30pm. All are welcome.
Lenten Meditation Course will be held at St. Joseph’s Family Centre in Museum Street over the next five Monday evening, next on 26th February at 7.30-8.30pm. This is a free course and all our welcome, new and experienced meditators alike.
North West Catholic History Society will publish in the spring of 2018:-
Upholland College: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Priestly Training by Dr. Peter Doyle, a former student and teacher at the College and the author of Mitres & Missions in Lancashire: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Liverpool 1850-2000. It will be available to members of the Josephan Society at £12 per copy, including postage and packing, and to non-members at £14. Please contact Christine at St. Joseph’s if you wish to order a copy.
John Traynor will be holding Lenten Reflections on John’s Gospel and the Triduum for five Wednesday evenings from 28th February, 7th March, 14th March, 21st March and 28th March. All are welcome to come along, in particular readers.
Change of Mass Time
Please note that the daily Mass time at St. Joseph’s on a Friday will in future be at 12 noon. This is to allow Fr. Malcolm to visit St. Joseph’s and St. Vincent’s schools and join in their Celebration assemblies on a Monday morning,.
St. Joseph’s Gardening Team
Volunteers are required to collect all the leaves on Saturday 3rd March so the green bins canbe emptied on the 9th March in readiness for the regular gardening to commence on Saturday 31st March. Usual T’s & C’s will apply.
Gospel Reflection for the Second Sunday of Lent
Quick Fix Remedy?
Do you bound out of bed each morning eager to get to work ….. enthusiastic about all the challenges that lie ahead. Well probably not! Life is a series of highs and lows, but we all know that the ‘highs’ are few and far between. For most of us life is a series of chores and we can often feel burdened by drudgery and frustration.
In today’s gospel reading, Peter James and John are feeling demoralised and fearful about talk of Jesus’ imminent death. Perhaps the disciples felt that the goal they had been working towards was not the goal of which Jesus is now talking. We have all felt like this at some time. Even the most motivated amongst us will slump from time to time. We might all have felt at some point debilitated by fear and anxiety, or overwhelmed by tiredness. At times like these, a life mentor might advise us to re-visualise our goals. We might be advised to find inspiration and get excited. We might be advised to focus on our most important priorities and not set too many goals which will eventually sap all our energy. Funnily enough, two thousand years before the terms ‘life mentor’ or ‘life coach’ were coined, these were exactly the strategies that Jesus used to motivate Peter James and John in this difficult period of their discipleship. Jesus leads them up a high mountain where they see a vision of a transfigured Jesus in dazzling white accompanied by Moses and Elijah.
Peter, James and John had a moment of revelation that day on the mountain top, and although they could not capture that moment by erecting tents as Peter proposes, they had that glimpse of glory to remember and keep with them forever through the testing times ahead.
Christians do not have a quick fix remedy for making problems in life go away, but we share the same motivating vision of God’s kingdom as we struggle with life’s ‘lows’.
Fairtrade Fortnight
Come on in
Fairtrade Fortnight 2018 runs from 26th February to 11th March and this year the organisers would like you to join in supporting the farmers and workers who grow our food. With Fairtrade we have the power to change the world every day.
It’s a scandalous reality that millions of farmers and workers are still being ripped off despite working hard to provide the products we love. Unfairness in global trade is rooted in centuries of exploitation. Fairtrade’s message is that ‘together we’re stronger,’ and more people choosing, sharing and shouting about Fairtrade in the UK means more power to third world producers to break the stranglehold of poverty prices. Fairtrade Fortnight is an opportunity to organise anything from working breakfasts, banquets, bake-offs to business awards. Every Fairtrade Fortnight communities across the UK use their creativity, connections and local knowledge (not to mention effort!) to open more doors to Fairtrade.
Time For A Coffee Break!
Have you spotted CaféDirect on the supermarket shelves recently? They have a great new look but the Fairtrade coffee inside is just as good as it’s always been.
CafeDirect has initiated the INSPIRE programme in Peru. They’ve created three farmer training centres called ‘Centres of Excellence’ built to share the best coffee knowledge and practices with the local farmers. The INSPIRE programme is also addressing the problem of an ageing farming population by passing knowledge on to the next generation. They're focusing on supporting more women to become coffee farmers too. Time for a coffee break?
Saint David
1st March
What makes a great person? Skills talent motivation and courage can get us so far, but at the end of the day we discover the necessity for self-discipline, hard work and doing the little things well. 'Do the little things well', were the last words of St David to his followers ….. today a well-known phrase in Wales, and an inspiration to many. Particularly relevant to us today in the twenty first century, Saint David is a model to us on living simply and sustainably.
Women’s World Day of Prayer
2nd March
This Year’s theme is ‘All God’s Creation Is Very Good!’
The women organising this year’s day of prayer suggest the following as part of your ‘Prayerful Action’.
- See the leaflet produced by Green Christian: Nine Ways of living gently on the Earth – downloadable from
- Write to your MP – go to for suggestions, template letters, etc.
Bitesize
If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.
Lawrence J. Peter
Mass Intentions for week commencing 26th February 2018Monday 26th / 9.30am / John Roach
Tuesday 27th / NO MASS
Wednesday 28th / NO MASS
Thursday 1st / 6.30am / Martha Connolly
(Anniversary)
Friday 2nd / NO MASS
Saturday 3rd / 4.30-5pm
Sunday 4th / 8.30am
10.30am
4.00pm / Maureen Burke
Margaret Anderson (Get Well)
People of the Parish
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Joseph’s will take place this week on Wednesday and Friday from 9.00am until 12 Noon.